[Dissertation] "We already been purged": violence against black transgender women in Allegheny County

Description

Transgender people across the nation are unnecessarily burdened by harassment and violence, ranging from verbal harassment, physical and sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and systemic violence. Some of the most brutally and frequently victimized within the population are transgender women, particularly black transgender women, and are at great risk for downstream health outcomes. Both the Institute of Medicine and Healthy People 2020 have prioritized improving health equity for transgender people and acknowledge the influence of violence on health outcomes. Given this public health significance, this cultural shift in Public Health has given researchers the opportunity to build a foundation of evidence about violence against transgender people. A localized study was proposed to investigate the context in which black transgender women experience violence, related health outcomes, protective factors, and resources utilized as a result of violence. Analysis of focus group data conducted in Allegheny County demonstrated locally: common context and motivations for violence, the impact of violence on personal mental health, as well as protective measures used to prevent violence. Within both groups, a complex definition of violence evolved which include micro-aggressions like mis-naming and mis-gendering, to verbal, physical, and sexual assault. Violent experiences were common in many social spheres such as: on the streets, on public transit, with family, in sex work, by law enforcement, in jail or prison, with intimate partners, and within sexual and gender minority communities. Outing via mis-gendering and mis-naming were frequent pre-cursors to physical violence as well as a component of physical violence itself. Stigma against transgender women was underlying many experiences of violence, and occasionally intertwined with racism. Women in the groups relied on a number of individual level factors to protect themselves from violence like: hypervigilance, avoidance, educating, ignoring, self-defense, and retaliation. Some of these tactics such as avoidance and ignoring resulted in social isolation and loneliness and may also contribute to downstream mental health issues discussed like: depression, anxiety, and suicidality. This study concluded that structural level changes to reduce stigma locally and broadly are necessary to ameliorate the impact of violence against black transgender women. TITLE PAGE......Page 1 COMMITTEE MEMBERS......Page 2 ABSTRACT......Page 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6 PREFACE......Page 9 1.0 INTRODUCTION......Page 10 2.0 BACKGROUND......Page 12 2.1.2 Prevalence of Domestic Violence and Associated Outcomes......Page 14 2.1.3 Health Outcomes Related to Sexual Assault......Page 15 2.1.5 Murders......Page 16 2.1.7 Intra-Community and House and Ball Scene Violence......Page 17 2.1.8 Legal Protections......Page 20 2.1.9 Summary......Page 22 3.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS......Page 23 3.1.2 Intersectionality......Page 24 3.1.3 Social Ecological Model......Page 25 3.1.4 Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Disease......Page 26 4.1.1 Recruitment and Participants......Page 27 4.1.2 Data Collection......Page 28 4.1.4 Analysis......Page 29 5.1.2 Overview of Findings......Page 30 5.1.3.1 Family......Page 32 5.1.3.2 Sex Work......Page 36 5.1.3.3 Intimate Partners......Page 39 5.1.3.4 Intimate Partners- Dating and New Partners......Page 40 5.1.3.5 Intimate Partners- Long-term Relationships......Page 44 5.1.4.1 Straight Bars/Club Violence......Page 47 5.1.4.2 Street Violence......Page 49 5.1.4.3 Public Transit and Transportation......Page 50 5.1.5 Intra-Community Violence......Page 51 5.1.5.1 Community Leadership and Black Trans Women......Page 52 5.1.5.2 Gay Bars and Gay Men......Page 53 5.1.6 House and Ball Community......Page 55 5.1.6.1 Butch Queens......Page 56 5.1.6.2 Competition......Page 58 5.1.6.3 Black Trans Women......Page 61 5.1.7 Black Trans Women and Social Media......Page 63 5.1.8.1 Law Enforcement......Page 65 5.1.8.2 Jail and Prison......Page 70 5.1.9.1 Hypervigilance......Page 72 5.1.9.2 Avoidance......Page 73 5.1.9.3 Ignoring......Page 75 5.1.9.4 Educating......Page 76 5.1.9.5 Self-Defense and Retaliation......Page 77 5.1.10 Solidarity Among Black Transgender Women......Page 79 5.1.11 Health Outcomes- Mental Health......Page 81 6.0 DISCUSSION......Page 83 7.0 CONCLUSION......Page 86 8.0 LIMITATIONS......Page 89 Appendix A - IRB EXEMPT LETTER......Page 91 Appendix B - INTRODUCTORY SCRIPT......Page 92 Appendix C - FOCUS GROUP GUIDE......Page 93 Appendix D - DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY......Page 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 97